Oil flooding protector



Oct. 11, 1955 R. 1.. AKERMAN OIL FLOODING PROTECTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Oct. 9, 1952 Fig.2

4 Ralph L. Akerman IN VEN TOR.

9 BY @wm WW 3m Oct. 11, 1955 R. AKERMAN OIL FLOODING PROTECTOR Filed001;. 9; l9

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.3

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R m "0 mm a A L MM m 02 R M United States Patent Ofilice 2,720,211Patented Oct. 11, 1955 This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in oil burning apparatus and the primary object of thepresent invention is to provide a fuel control means for oil burnersthat will prevent the over-flooding of burners.

An outstanding feature of this invention is the provision of an oilflooding protector including a valve actuator for the fuel supply thatis operatively connected to a wick mounted under the burners so that oildropping from the burners will be caught and ignitedon the wick toactivate the valve actuator.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a safetyattachment for oil burners that will regulate and/or control the flow offuel to the burners and which is responsive to temperature conditionswithin a burner chamber for its proper function.

A further object of the present invention is to provide asmall andcompact valve unit and actuator for the flow lines of oil burners andinvolving a diaphragm actuated plunger that will operate a valve torestrict the flow of fuel to the burners.

A still further aim of the present invention is to provide a fuelcontrolling device for oil burners that is extremely simple andpractical in construction, efficient and durable in operation,inexpensive to manufacture, service and maintain, and otherwise welladapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein likenumerals refer to like parts throughout, in which:

Figure l is an elevational view of an oil burning apparatus, showing thepresent invention operatively connected thereto, and with parts of theburner chamber broken away for the convenience of explanation;

Figure 2 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken substantially onthe plane of section line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantiallyon the plane of section line 3--3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially onthe plane of section line 44 of Figure 2; and,

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the planeof section line 5-5 of Figure 3, in slightly reduced scale.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose ofillustration, there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the numeral represents an oil burning apparatus includingtwin burners 12 that are mounted upon a support 14 within a burner y tothe burners in response to temperature conditions within the burnerchamber 16.

T o accomplish the desired results, there is provided a valve housing 24in the form of a T-fitting: the registering openings of which receivablyengage pipe sections 26 and 28 that form sections of the supply conduit20. The other opening in the housing 24 receivable engages an upstandingexternally threaded guide and support sleeve 30 that slidably receivesthe stem 32 of a slide valve (not shown) that is spring urged upward toan open position.

A nut 34 is rotatable on the sleeve 30 and fixedly supports ahorizontally swingable arm 36 that inclines upwardly from the sleeve 30.The free end 38 of the arm 36 is bifurcated to receive the end 40 of arelatively long vertically swingable lever 42. A horizontal pivot pin 449 extends through the ends 38 and 40 to pivotally attach the lever tothe arm.

A casing, having a removable upper wall, encloses the valve housing 24,arm 26 and most of the lever 42. The end walls 48 and 50 of the casing46 are formed with registering openings accommodating the pipe sections26 and 28. The collars 52 and 54, suitably secured to the end walls 48and 50, are held on the sections 26 and 28 by set screws to maintain thecasing upon the pipe sections.

An angle member or supporting plate 56 is secured to one end of thecasing 46 by spacers 58 and fasteners 60. The horizontal flange of thesupporting plate 56 is apertured to accommodate the sleeve 30. Adiaphragm case 62 is removably supported upon the plate 56 in registrywith an opening 64 in the plate. The diaphragm within case 62 iscentrally fixed to a sliding plunger 66 that will move through opening64 to engage lever 42 in a manner presently to be described.

Plate 56 fixedly supports a horizontally disposed ledge or seat formingelement 68 upon which the free end portion of lever 42 rests to supportthe lever over the reduced upper end of valve stem 32 and in the path ofmovement of plunger 66. The free end of lever 42 also extends through aninclined slot 70 in end wall 50 to guide the lever 42 as the same islowered to its valve actuating position.

Diaphragm case 62 is connected to a thermo-responsive member 72 by acapillary tube 74. Member 72 is supported within the chamber 16 by anysuitable means and underlies a shield element 76 also supported withinthe chamber 16 below and between the burners 12.

In practical use of the present invention, and assuming the valve V inthe supply conduit 20 to be on, fuel from the tank 18 will pass throughthe conduit 20 including the sections 26, 28 and to the burners 12.Should a larger supply of fuel from the tank 18 pass through the burners12 than is necessary for the burners to function properly, oil willflood over the burners and onto a wick W supported under the burners andbe ignited to radiate heat to capillary tube 72 and cause the diaphragmin case 62 to fiex and move plunger 66 against the lever 42. As theplunger 66 is moved against the lever 42, the lever will be releasedfrom the ledge forming elements 68 since the arm 36 is pivoted orrotatable upon 30.

After the lever 42 is moved from the ledge element 68, it will swingdownwardly to the dotted line position shown in Figure 3 to depress thestem 32 and close the valve within housing 24. The lever may be raisedto its normal position, shown in Figure 3, by user grasping the exposedfree end of the lever 42.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of thedevice will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A moredetailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shownand described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same issusceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of theinvention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the' invention, what is claimed as new is: 1. A flowcontrol device for oil burners, said device comprising a supply pipehaving a valve housing interposed therein, a slide valve in the housingand including a stern projecting upwardly from the housing, a swingabl'earm on thehousing, an actuating lever pivoted to the arm and extendingover the stern, means engaging and releasably supporting the leverspaced abovethe stem, and means responsive to heat and engageable withthe lever to move the latter but of engagement with the lever supportingmeans, whereby the lever will engage the stem to' force the valve to itsclosed position.

2. A now control device for oil burners, said device comprising a supplypipe having a valve housing interposed therein, a slide valve in thehousing and including a stem projecting upwardly from the housing, ahorizontally swin gable arm on the housing, a vertically swingable leverp'ivote'd at one end to the arm and extending over the stern, a casingenclosing the housing and a portion of the pipe, means within the casingengaging and releasabl y retaining the lever spaced above the stem, andmeans including a diaphragm actuated plunger for engaging" the lever tomove the latter out of engagement with the retaining means.

3 A flo'w control device for oil burners, said device comprising asupply pipe having a valve housing interposed therein, a slide valve inthe housing and including a stem projecting upwardly from the housing, ahorizontally sWin'g'able arm on the housing, a vertically andhorizontally swingable lever pivoted at one end to the arm and extendingover the stem, a casing enclosing the housing and a portion of the pipe,a ledge-forming element within the casing and engaged by said lever, adiaphragnr supported within the casing, a plunger attached to thediaphragm and engageable with the lever for pivoting the arm and leverabout a vertical axis to move the latte'r off the ledge-forming element,and thermo-responsive means operatively connected to the diaphragm foractuating thetlatter. V

4'. A flow control device for oil burners, said device comprising asupply pipe having a valve housing interposed therein, a slide valve inthe housing and including a stern projecting upwardly from the housing,a horizonable lever pivoted at one end to the arm and extending over thestem, a casing enclosing the housing and a portion of the pipe, aledge-forming element within the casing and engaged by said lever, adiaphragm supported within the casing, a plunger attached to thediaphragm and engageable with the lever to move the latter off theledge-forming element, and thermo-responsive means operatively connectedto the diaphragm for actuating the latter, said casing having an endWall with. a slot therein receiving the end of said lever remote fromsaid arm to guide the lever is the latter is moved on the ledge-fermingelement.

5. A flow control device for oil burners, said device comprising asupply pipe having a valve housing interposed therein, a slide valve inthe housing and including a stem projecting upwardly from the housing, ahorizontally swingable arin on the housing, a vertically andhorizontally swingable lever-pivoted at one end to the arm and extendingover the stem, a casing enclosing the housing and a portion of the pipe,a ledge-forming element within the casing and engaged by said lever, adiaphragm supported within the casing, a plunger attached to thediaphragm and engageable with the lever for pivoting the arm and leverabout a vertical axis to'move the latter oh the ledge-forming element,-and thermo-respon sive means operatively connected to the diaphragm foractuating the latter, a sleeve extending upwardly from the housingthrough which the stem extends to be guided by the sleeve, and said armbeing clamped on said sleeve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,0354? Welman on. 21, 1913 1,377,873 Chadick May 10, 1921 1,454,341Schwartz May 8 1923 1,625,323 Lee Apr. 19, 1927 1,648,652 Shadr ickN'ov. 8, 1927 1,688,806 Engel er al Oct. 23, 1928 1,881,367 McKessonOct. 4, 1932 1,881,807 Maurer oer; 11, 1932 2,379,565 Do'licet July 3,1945 2,521,469 Marks Sept. 5 1950 2,545,748 Parkinson Mar. 20, 1951

